But he doesn't mind a bit because the situation has arisen because he now has a wealth of strikers available to him although new signing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is cup-tied.

McCarthy learned yesterday that Jay Bothroyd has thrown his hat in the ring and asked to be considered after being left out of the Wolves squad for the last two matches.

But the Wolves boss also has Kevin Kyle, Stephen Elliott, Andy Keogh and Freddy Eastwood to consider.

Bothroyd has played a part in the previous rounds of the competition and starred in the 4-1 victory over Watford but then found himself relegateed to the bench against the Hornets in the league and again in the recent trip to Hillsborough to take on Sheffield Wednesday.

Bothroyd said: "Everyone wants to play and we know the rotation system is now part of the modern game but I intend to stake my claim after all this is the FA Cup.

"I scored once and made two against Wat-ford in the previous round but then not to play at all in the next game - I admit I was a bit gutted.

"But you can't let it affect you because then it will affect your game."

Bothroyd - who does not mind who he is paired up with as long as he makes the starting line-up - added: "At the end of the day it is a squad game and the manager has decided to change it so that is fair enough.

"All I can do is keep working hard and if I get 10 or 15 minutes in a game then I must come on and show what I can do.

"I just plan to stay in good shape and be ready in case I am called upon."

Meanwhile Darren Ward hopes a good FA Cup run will kick-start the side's league form again as they battle to try and revive their dreams of reaching the Championship play-offs.

Wolves have won just twice in 13 league games but are enjoying success in the FA Cup and take on former boss Dave Jones's Cardiff City in the fifth round this weekend,

Ward said: "The FA Cup is very different from the league and in a way there is less pressure.

"Winning is like a habit like losing and we don't like losing so we hope we can get a result at Cardiff.

"If we could get a win there over a decent side it would give us a real boost and give us a massive shot of confidence."